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Trojan Horses and a Seat at the Table

This week’s articles continue the professional path started previously. I say this because we got a taste this week of Robert Reiser’s lessons on getting a position in instructional design, and Gabrielli and Branson’s tips on getting a job in business or industry. Then, Joshua Kim gave us a list from 2018 of all the jobs he found on a simple Inside Higher Ed Career site search that day that had instructional designer/technology in the job title, and he wrote that having a traditional PhD in a traditional discipline does not make you qualified to “move up” to an instructional designer position at your institution.

The reading this week I’m most resonating with is Intentional Futures’ report on instructional design in higher ed. I was engaged by the layout of the report, for one thing, which made it easier to read (I guess I’m used to reading reports with a lot of color). When I got to the line on page 8 that said, “Instructional designers expressed a strong desire to develop more of a pedagogical supporting presence in all forms of teaching. And in fact, some instructional designers admitted to ‘using the LMS [learning management system] as a Trojan Horse to get into a conversation with [faculty] around their pedagogy’” (Intentional Futures, 2016, pg. 8), I almost laughed because I’ve done that, used the “Trojan Horse” of technology – LMS, Zoom – to start the conversation on pedagogy and teaching. I feel that it’s a “hard pill to swallow” for faculty when talking about their teaching style or how to improve.


Over the past year, I’ve cloaked it in catchy titles like: “Increasing Engagement in the Online Classroom” or “5 Tips for Dynamic Zoom Classes”. These trainings or tips may start out like I’m teaching them about the tool, but in the end, it’s more about learning, engagement, and teaching. But I feel kinship with the respondents of the survey who feel that the number one obstacle that instructional designers face is faculty buy-in (Intentional Futures, 2016, p. 15). I feel this at my institution because I am not a faculty and I do not have authority over faculty. Hierarchy seems very important with faculty, and I resonate with the question, “Are we holding back improvement in higher education by not empowering instructional designers?” (Intentional Futures, 2016, pg. 15). That’s something I’ve talked with my boss about a lot – I don’t feel empowered to “make” faculty change when it comes to teaching and learning. I also think, in my institution, that my title of Educational Technology Specialist holds me back because people hear “technology” and think that’s all I do, or they feel threatened by me when I start talking about pedagogy, teaching, and learning.

One thing I learned from an EDUCAUSE Learning Technology Leaders Institute that I participated in last summer was that I need to ask leadership and administration (in my case the Dean) to make a seat at the table for me from the beginning. That is also the first recommendation in the call-to-action section of this report: “Institutional leaders and administration – Involve instructional designers early, often, and throughout your technology transition” (Intentional Futures, 2016, pg. 16).


References:

Gabrielli, G. K., & Branson, R. K. (2012). Getting a job in business and industry. In R. A.

Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (3rd

ed.) (pp. 263-272). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.


Intentional Futures (2016, April). Instructional design in higher education: A report on the

role, workflow, and experience of instructional designers.


Kim, Joshua (2018, June 6). A traditional Ph.D. does not an instructional designer make,

Inside Higher Ed, https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/technology-andlearning/traditional-phd-does-not-instructional-designer-make.


Kim, Joshua, (2018, March 8). Career Opportunities at the Intersection of Learning and

Technology: A talent shortage?, Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed, https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/career-opportunitiesintersection-learning-and-technology.


Reiser, R. A. (2012). Getting an instructional design position: Lessons from a personal history.

In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and

technology (3rd ed.) (pp. 256-262). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.



5 Comments


Guest
Nov 25, 2021

“Instructional designers expressed a strong desire to develop more of a pedagogical supporting presence in all forms of teaching. And in fact, some instructional designers admitted to ‘using the LMS [learning management system] as a Trojan Horse to get into a conversation with [faculty] around their pedagogy’”


Technology is a way to get progressive educational reform in thru the back door, fortunately or unfortunately, Melissa.


I agree that the Intentional Futures report is easy to read and of high value. Keep reading.


curt

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Guest
Nov 22, 2021

Hi Melissa,


In your final blog, I thought you pointed out a very important issue regarding all instructional designers’ status and rights in their careers – the empowerment of instructional designers. In the early years of traditional higher education, faculty members were the core of a school, and they made decisions about almost everything at school, including research, teaching, and school operations. This faculty-centered tradition is still rooted in some higher educational institutions, especially those with long histories and good reputations. In these kinds of schools, instructional designers are less empowering because teaching might not be a priority for schools. However, when higher education becomes professionalized and marketized, more and more colleges focus on recruiting students, so faculty members are…


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Melissa Lewis
Melissa Lewis
Nov 19, 2021

Hi Melissa,


I read similar feelings in Pei-Shan's blog as well when she shared that teachers were hesitant or unwilling to make a shift to a new LMS. Pei-Shan identified their hesitation as rooted in their pedagogy, rather than in their discomfort with the technology. I identified with those thoughts and I absolutely identify with yours. I love your "trojan horse" metaphor!


At the start of the pandemic, I was really pleased with how quickly and how well my teammates and I adjusted and were able to provide solid, engaging instruction to our students in the virtual setting (March-June 2020). When the 2020-2021 school year started, our team acquired two new team members. We shared our methods, our experiences, an…


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Rebecca Horrace
Rebecca Horrace
Nov 19, 2021

Hey Melissa,


What great points you make this week! And love how you have 'Trojan Horsed' you way into some trainings ;) Whatever it takes to get them in the door and open to the training, right?!


And how power, "to make a seat at the table for [you] from the beginning." Wow! This is what needs to happen though, to be included, to be heard, and for your admin to understand that you are there for a genuine purpose and your job's success relies heavily on their support of you. Kudos! So, do you have your seat?!


~Rebecca

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Mark Tatara
Mark Tatara
Nov 14, 2021

Hey Melissa,

Thanks for sharing your insight. I did not read the Intentional Futures article but will have to go back and read it now. I am sure the struggles you experience are felt by others in the IST field. I am sorry to hear that you do not feel empowered to make changes. Hopefully, through your little tips and tricks, you will be able to make an impact. Maybe with your insight from this class and the rest of the IST courses you are taking, you will be able to get a seat at the table from the beginning and make a larger impact. Hopefully, the Dean will come around and realize the importance of your posi…

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